This isn’t how Ubaldo Jimenez envisioned making history. He tied a season high with six walks, seven if you count his stroll back to his downtown loft.

“I didn’t bring my car today,” Jimenez said.

No problem — his teammates gave him a lift Monday. On Labor Day, they rolled up their sleeves, working over the Reds 10-5 as Jimenez finally won his franchise-record 18th game of the season in his sixth attempt.

“You could tell he didn’t have his best stuff,” outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. “It was up to us to do something special for him.”

While not dominant, Jimenez still put together a win that was no less significant. The Rockies pulled within five games of the wild-card pace car Phillies, who split a doubleheader, and remained 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Padres, who snapped a 10-game losing streak.

Optimism was palpable in the Rockies’ clubhouse afterward, not seen at this level since the all-star break. Nothing like a road sweep in San Diego and a successful launch to a 10-game homestand to create visions of Shocktober.

“We still believe we can get to the playoffs,” said Jimenez, whose team has 15 games remaining at home and 10 in visiting parks. “I will think about the record down the road. Helping the team is all that is important.”

Jimenez didn’t look like he was going to escape on a windy day at Coors Field when every flyball was a potential souvenir. He was tagged for four runs on five hits in the third inning, including two bloopers and Chris Heisey’s RBI bunt.

“I looked out and saw (Esmil) Rogers warming up, and I was like, ‘Uh-oh,’ ” said Jimenez when told he was one more “gapper,” as manager Jim Tracy put it, from being yanked. “I had to find a way to get through it.”

In his previous five shots at history, the Rockies scored 10 runs. Their 10 runs Monday bailed out Jimenez after he performed damage control.

He navigated out of bases- loaded messes in the fourth and sixth, exiting the game after 123 pitches.

Jimenez stood alone in the record book — he no longer shares a section with Jeff Francis, Kevin Ritz and Pedro Astacio — after Troy Tulowitzki homered in the fifth inning. The right-hander improved to 18-6 overall, including 9-1 with a 3.35 ERA at Coors Field.

“He deserves the record with the year he’s had,” Todd Helton said.

What makes the finish so intriguing is that his light bulb has gone on for the lineup again. Gonzalez, his MVP candidacy gaining momentum with every swing, leads the league in average (.340), is tied for second in RBIs and ranks fifth in home runs (31), four behind Albert Pujols.

And he’s arguably not the Rockies’ hottest hitter. Tulowitzki is 9-for-22 with three home runs in his last five games.

“We have a special dynamic at work right now,” Tracy said.

Opponents face the unenviable choice: pitch to CarGo in the three hole or put him aboard for Tulo, who is hitting .313 with runners in scoring position since returning on July 27.

“I don’t know if we are putting pressure on other teams in the race,” Tulowitzki said.

“But we play the teams ahead of us enough, if we win the series each and every time, we are going to move on in this thing.”

Sixth time is a charm

Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez notched his team- record 18th win Monday after five failed attempts. Jimenez’s lines from those games and Monday:

Date Opp. IP H ER K Result

Aug. 10 Mets 7.0 4 1 8 L, 1-0

Aug. 15 Brewers 8.0 10 3 10 No decision*

Aug. 21 D-backs 6.0 3 3 3 L, 3-1

Aug. 27 Dodgers 7.0 9 3 4 L, 6-2

Sept. 1 Giants 8.0 4 2 10 L, 2-1

Monday Reds 6.0 7 4 8 W, 10-5

*Rockies won 6-5

Looking ahead

TODAY: Reds at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., FSN

It’s Jhoulys Chacin (7-9, 3.69 ERA), as in “Sha- sheen the Machine.” The right-hander has quietly put together a terrific season and is just 22 strikeouts shy of Shawn Chacon’s single-season rookie record of 134. He has been a beast in the second half, allowing just one home run in 125 plate appearances while holding opponents to a .190 average. There is no questioning the talent of Johnny Cueto (12-4, 3.41), but his mind-set could be an issue because he has been gone the past few days due to a death in his family. Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post

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